Lecture Abstract: Optical microscopy is an essential tool in biological research. However, the spatial resolution of optical microscopy, classically limited by the diffraction of light to several hundred nanometers, is substantially larger than typical molecular length scales in cells, leaving many biological problems beyond our reach. To overcome this limit, we have developed a new form of super-resolution light microscopy, stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM). STORM uses single-molecule imaging and photo-switchable fluorescent probes to temporally separate the spatially overlapping images of individual molecules. This approach allows the localization of fluorescent probes with nanometer precision and the construction of super-resolution images. Using this concept, we have achieved multicolor and three-dimensional (3D) imaging of molecular complexes, cells and tissues with nanometer scale resolution. In this talk, I will discuss the general concept, recent technical advances and various biological applications of STORM.

Awardee Biography: Xiaowei Zhuang is the Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Professor of Physics at Harvard University, and an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Zhuang is a leading expert in single-molecule biology and bioimaging. Her lab develops and applies advanced optical imaging techniques, such as super-resolution light microscopy and single-molecule imaging approaches to study biological systems quantitatively. Zhuang received her B.S. degree in Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China, and her Ph.D. Degree in Physics from University of California at Berkeley. In 2001, she joined the faculty of Harvard University as an assistant professor. She was promoted to associate professor in 2005 and full professor in 2006. Zhuang has received numerous awards, including the MacArthur Fellowship, Sloan Fellowship, Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, Beckman Young Investigator Award, Searle Scholar award, NSF CAREER award, ONR Young investigator award, TR World's Top 100 Young Innovators Award, Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, Coblentz Award, ACS Pure Chemistry Award, and the HHMI Collaborative Innovation Award.

The Magomedov-Shcherbinina Memorial Prize and Lectureship is presented in loving memory of the Magomedov-Shcherbinina family. Assistant Professor Nabi Magomedov, his wife Natalya Shcherbinina, and their three-year old son, Amir died tragically on February 7, 2006 in a multi-vehicle accident. The memorial fund was established by the Chemistry Department of the University of Rochester and Bausch & Lomb, Inc., with the generous support of friends, family and colleagues. The award presentation will take place annually upon the occasion of the awardee’s lecture at the University of Rochester. With this inaugural prize, we remember the lives and accomplishments of Nabi, Natalya and Amir, bringing to heart and mind their remarkable spirits and envisioning what might have been, but for their untimely and tragic deaths.